1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spinal surgery, and particularly to a device and method to prevent extravasation of bone cement used in balloon kyphoplasty.
2. Description of the Related Art
Kyphoplasty is a spinal procedure, in which bone cement is injected through a small hole in the skin, percutaneously, into a fractured vertebra with the goal of relieving the back pain of vertebral compression fractures. Kyphoplasty is a variation of a vertebroplasty. Kyphoplasty attempts to restore the height and angle of kyphosis of a fractured vertebra (of certain types), followed by its stabilization using injected bone cement. The procedure typically includes the use of a small balloon that is inflated in the vertebral body to create a void within the cancellous bone prior to cement delivery. Once the void is created, bone cement is injected with a biopsy needle into the collapsed or fractured vertebra. The needle is placed with fluoroscopic x-ray guidance. The cement (most commonly PMMA, although more modern cements are used as well) quickly hardens and forms a support structure within the vertebra that provides stabilization and strength. The needle makes a small puncture in the patient's skin that is easily covered with a small bandage after the procedure. In kyphoplasty, the bone cement is typically delivered directly into void which was created by the inflation of the balloon.
However, due to compression damage and/or other fractures in the vertebra, following injection of the cement, the injected bone cement often leaks through the cracks and fractures in the vertebra, a process called extravasation. The setting of this leaked cement can cause nerve damage, including nerve compression, along with other conditions, such neuropathy, lung embolus or the like.
Thus, a device and method to prevent extravasation of bone cement used in balloon kyphoplasty solving the aforementioned problems is desired.